Florida HB 1555: Private Property Rights to Prune, Trim, and Remove Trees

Bill Text

HB 1555 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1555-00
Page 1 of 6
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to postsecondary education; providing 2
legislative findings; creating s. 1004.0983, F.S.; 3
providing definitions; requiring Florida College 4
System institutions and state universities to report 5
specified information; requiring such information to 6
be deidentified and aggregated by specified 7
categories; prohibiting the boards of trustees of such 8
institutions from delegating such responsibilities; 9
authorizing the State Board of Education and the Board 10
of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, 11
respectively; creating s. 1004.0984, F.S.; defining 12
the term "institution"; prohibiting Florida College 13
System institutions and state universities from 14
requiring specified persons to participate in training 15
that endorses specified concepts; providing 16
construction; providing that specified violations by 17
certain persons create a cause of action for specified 18
relief and recovery of certain fees and costs; 19
providing for specified forms of relief; creating s. 20
1004.0985, F.S.; requiring Florida College System 21
institutions and state universities to maintain 22
websites that publish specified information; 23
providing an effective date. 24
25

HB 1555 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1555-00
Page 2 of 6
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that every year the state 26
makes a substantial investment in public postsecondary education 27
and that ensuring the wise use of public funds is a critical 28
interest of the state in setting the priorities for public 29
postsecondary education in the state, and 30
WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that it is important 31
to ensure that discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, 32
or sex has no place in the state's public institutions of 33
postsecondary education, NOW THEREFORE, 34
35
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36
37
Section 1. Section 1004.0983, Florida Statutes, is created 38
to read: 39
1004.0983 Florida College System institution and state 40
university admissions reporting requirements.— 41
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 42
(a) "Admissions data" means information related to 43
applications for admission, the disposition of applications for 44
admission, and enrollments for undergraduate and graduate 45
programs. 46
(b) "GPA" means any numerical measure of an applicant's 47
academic performance at any preceding educational institution 48
that is requested or used as part of the admissions process. 49
(c) "Institution" means Florida College System 50

HB 1555 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1555-00
Page 3 of 6
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

institutions and state universities. 51
(d) "Standardized test" means a test that is considered 52
part of the admissions process and is administered and scored in 53
a consistent manner with the same questions, testing conditions, 54
and scoring procedures for all test takers, including, but not 55
limited to, the SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and GMAT. 56
(2) Annually, the board of trustees of each institution 57
must submit to the Department of Education a report detailing 58
it's admissions data from the previous academic year for the 59
institution and for each undergraduate program, graduate 60
program, and professional school that conducts its own 61
admissions process. The report must include all of the following 62
deidentified data aggregated by race, ethnicity, and sex: 63
(a) The total number of applicants to the institution. 64
(b) The average and median standardized test scores for 65
applicants to the institution. 66
(c) The average and median GPAs for all applicants to the 67
institution. 68
(d) The total number of applicants offered admission to 69
the institution. 70
(e) The average and median standardized test scores for 71
all applicants offered admission to the institution. 72
(f) The average and median GPAs for all applicants offered 73
admission to the institution. 74
(g) The total number of applicants who enroll in the 75

HB 1555 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1555-00
Page 4 of 6
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

institution. 76
(h) The standardized test scores for all applicants who 77
enroll in the institution. 78
(i) The average and median GPAs for all applicants who 79
enroll in the institution. 80
81
If an undergraduate program, graduate program, or professional 82
school has its own GPA requirements, such GPAs must be included 83
in the data reported under paragraphs (c), (f), and (i). 84
(3) The board of trustees of an institution may not 85
delegate its duties under this sectio